Trump’s campaign boss wants 2020 GOP convention in San Antonio

The San Antonio skyline is seen from the southeast looking northwest in this frame take on, Thursday, Feb. 18, 2016.

The San Antonio skyline is seen from the southeast looking northwest in this frame take on, Thursday, Feb. 18, 2016.

Photo: JERRY LARA, Staff / San Antonio Express-News

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Portrait of Brad Parscale Monday July 10, 2017 at Giles-Parscale. Parscale is campaign adviser to President Donald Trump.

Portrait of Brad Parscale Monday July 10, 2017 at Giles-Parscale. Parscale is campaign adviser to President Donald Trump.

Photo: Edward A. Ornelas, Staff / San Antonio Express-News

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Republican Presidential Candidate Donald Trump, speaks during the final day of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Thursday, July 21, 2016. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Republican Presidential Candidate Donald Trump, speaks during the final day of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Thursday, July 21, 2016. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Photo: John Locher, STF / Associated Press

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FILE - In this July 20, 2016 file photo, a law enforcement officer takes Gregory "Joey" Johnson into custody after he started to burn an American flag in Cleveland, during the third day of the Republican convention. President-elect Donald Trump said Tuesday that anyone who burns an American flag should face unspecified "consequences," such as jail or a loss of citizenship _ a move that was ruled out by the Supreme Court nearly three decades ago. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) less

FILE - In this July 20, 2016 file photo, a law enforcement officer takes Gregory "Joey" Johnson into custody after he started to burn an American flag in Cleveland, during the third day of the Republican ... more

Photo: John Minchillo, STF / Associated Press

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Traffic moves along IH-37 between the Tower of the Americas and the Alamodome, Thursday, Feb. 18, 2016.

Traffic moves along IH-37 between the Tower of the Americas and the Alamodome, Thursday, Feb. 18, 2016.

Photo: JERRY LARA, Staff / San Antonio Express-News

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The Alamodome is seen in Thursday Oct. 8, 2015 aerial photo while recently-expanded Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center is seen in the background along with the rest of downtown San Antonio.

The Alamodome is seen in Thursday Oct. 8, 2015 aerial photo while recently-expanded Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center is seen in the background along with the rest of downtown San Antonio.

State GOP Chairman J.R. Romano, a Derby, Conn. native celebrates at the end of the GOP Convention at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, OH on Thursday, July 21, 2016.

State GOP Chairman J.R. Romano, a Derby, Conn. native celebrates at the end of the GOP Convention at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, OH on Thursday, July 21, 2016.

Photo: Neil Vigdor, Staff Reporter / Hearst Connecticut Media

Trump’s campaign boss wants 2020 GOP convention in San Antonio

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WASHINGTON — Brad Parscale, President Donald Trump’s campaign manager, wants San Antonio to host the 2020 Republican National Convention and has taken to Twitter to voice his frustration at the city’s lack of response to bid for the event.

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In an email to Mayor Ron Nirenberg on Wednesday, Parscale pressed for a response. “It is very important that I let the group here in DC know that San Antonio is going to pass on this opportunity. Many cities are killing to have this,” Parscale wrote.

Parscale used his Twitter account Wednesday to express further frustration.

“Coming soon to #SanAntonio: another mayor makes an epic political mistake that takes a possible 200MM from the community. Why??? I want to rip the last hair I have out of my head. Maybe he is just waiting on Mayor Sculley to decide for him,” Parscale tweeted, referring to City Manager Sheryl Sculley.

Nirenberg said: “I do not respond to political operatives’ tweetstorms.”

But former Mayor Julián Castro, who has said he might run for the Democrats’ presidential nomination in 2020, did respond.

“The Trump campaign is so SCARED of losing Texas in 2020 that it is DESPERATELY trying to get San Antonio to bid for the RNC convention as political insurance. It won't work, Brad. RNC loses millions for its hosts. And you're going to lose Texas anyway in 2020,” Castro tweeted.

In an email to council members Wednesday, Nirenberg wrote: “Today, I learned that the GOP has renewed its interest in San Antonio and is now actively seeking a convention bid.”

Nirenberg invited council members to a closed-door discussion next week about whether the city should attempt a late bid to host the event, which could be an economic bonanza for San Antonio. He said he has reservations. The mayor said he had been encouraged by some local business leaders, notably Parscale, to submit a bid to host the convention. But he said Wednesday he had gotten some mixed signals about the city’s chances of securing the bid.

He said representatives from the RNC were in San Antonio late last month to meet with political and business leaders about hosting the convention in the summer of 2020. Nirenberg said a local convention booster told him shortly afterward that Republicans no longer were interested in San Antonio, so he did not raise the issue with the City Council.

“There’s a reason San Antonio has not pursued a national political convention since 2000. The local community has to commit tens of millions of dollars up front, and prudent fiscal stewards have good reason to question whether that expense is worthwhile for the community,” Nirenberg said in an interview.

He remarked: “For all intents and purposes, there was nothing happening on this front until Parscale started blowing up the phones.”

Parscale has aggressively encouraged local officials and business leaders to bid on the convention. He holds considerable sway among national Republicans; he ran the Trump campaign’s successful digital operation from San Antonio two years ago and, in addition to directing the president’s political operation, he sits on the 12-member committee that chooses the convention site.

“It would be one of the most premier events in the history of San Antonio,” Parscale said in an interview. “It would give the city tens of millions of dollars worth of international media exposure, hundreds of millions of dollars in economic impact, help fill 85,000 hotel rooms for the struggling hotel industry and be one of the most significant food and beverage events ever in San Antonio.”

He added: “It would be completely insane for the city of San Antonio not to make a bid when it is one of the most perfect sites for a national convention.”

The RNC did not respond to an inquiry about selection details or cities vying for the convention. But Charlotte, which hosted the 2012 Democratic convention, is viewed as a leader in the competition.

Earlier this month, the North Carolina city submitted a formal proposal detailing its plan to house tens of thousands of visitors and provide security for an event at which thousands of protesters likely will be on hand.

Some national Republicans view the selection of San Antonio as convention host as a way to begin mending fences with Latino voters, many of whom deeply resent the Trump administration’s deportation policies along with his efforts to limit legal immigration and build a wall along the Southwest border.

Trump rescinded the popular Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program begun in the Obama administration and fought to derail several bipartisan efforts in Congress to restore protections.

“The Republican Party is aware of the growing Hispanic population and recognizes that their conservative values are perfectly aligned with the agenda of Republicans. Holding our convention in the Hispanic capital of the U.S. would be a very important step,” said a top Republican Party official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Hosting a political convention is a massive logistics and security task, but one that can bring substantial rewards.

Cleveland, site of the 2016 GOP nominating convention, enjoyed a $188 million benefit, according to an independent study afterward by Tourism Economics. The convention drew 48,000 people to Cleveland, 15,000 of them from news outlets.

The economic impact in 2016 for Philadelphia, which hosted the Democratic National Convention, was even more — $230.9 million, a study by the same analysts showed.

Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff, a Democrat, is among supporters of hosting the GOP gathering. As San Antonio mayor in 1992, Wolff tried unsuccessfully to bring the GOP convention to San Antonio. It went to Houston.

San Antonio also lost out despite efforts to host the Democrats’ 1996 nominating convention and the GOP convention in 2000.

“I think it would be a big, big benefit to San Antonio to have it here,” said Wolff, who has been present for discussions about hosting for the Republican gathering.

“I think we could handle it very well. There’s a concern about the controversies with President Trump. But the fact of the matter is that in a Republican convention, the president’s probably only here for a couple of hours — if indeed he is nominated, and if indeed he wins the nomination,” Wolff said.

Wolff said local leaders were told that they could expect to receive about $40 million from the government to help cover security costs.

In a memo sent to the Charlotte Regional Business Authority, the RNC said it expects the host city to raise roughly $70 million. That money would come from private rather than public sources.